Tabloid first aid kit, in aluminium case in canvas satchel used on U.S. Army Pan American flight, 1927, by Burroughs Wellcome and Co., English, with list of contents

Burroughs, Wellcome & Co made first aid kits for influential people and expeditions in a shrewd attempt to advertise the product. Filled with bandages, plasters and aromatic ammonia (inhaled when someone was at risk of fainting), this kit was carried by one of the teams on the Pan American Goodwill Flight 1926-27. Autographed by the eight successful airmen, the kit was donated back to the makers on their return.

The flight was arranged by the United States Air Force to promote goodwill in Central and South America and to map potential airline routes. Taking off from San Antonio, Texas, on 21 December 1926, five planes named after American cities undertook a trip of 22,000 miles. The flight passed over Mexico and Central America and down the west coast of South America. It crossed over the Andes and back to the USA before travelling on up the east coast on 2 May 1927, making several stops in each country. Two of the men died on the trip and only two planes made it back intact.